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On the contrary -- Considering the attach rate, I'd say NSMBU was a system seller, just not to as many people as Nintendo would've hoped. But the majority of people who bought the system bought it for that game, at least in part.

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On the contrary -- Considering the attach rate, I'd say NSMBU was a system seller, just not to as many people as Nintendo would've hoped. But the majority of people who bought the system bought it for that game, at least in part.

Not to be too mean, but a "system seller" would sell systems. Even though NSMBU is being picked up by the small number of people who buy a Wii U, it clearly doesn't have the power to actually sell systems. I'd say the attach rate is more indicative of the small, low-quality library than the draw of that particular game.

At this point, the only thing selling the Wii U is the Nintendo brand name.

Interesting question. I'd venture to say, it would've helped significantly. Normally, the market leader enjoys a large degree of anticipation for the follow-up to a still-popular product. The Wii was a has-been by the time the Wii U arrived. Of course, that was only one of several problems the Wii U faced, and not even the largest.

Member

Not to be too mean, but a "system seller" would sell systems. Even though NSMBU is being picked up by the small number of people who buy a Wii U, it clearly doesn't have the power to actually sell systems. I'd say the attach rate is more indicative of the small, low-quality library than the draw of that particular game.

At this point, the only thing selling the Wii U is the Nintendo brand name.

Without NSMBU, Wii U would probably be doing Virtual Boy type numbers.... I'd say NSMBU is a system seller, but having one system seller to sell a 350 dollar console is not going to get the system anywhere

Member

So with TLOU being a huge succes and 360 having...nothing, is there a chance PS3 is finally breaking the streak in June? That's something Sony could brag about and which could give them some momentum for next gen

Member

So with TLOU being a huge succes and 360 having...nothing, is there a chance PS3 is finally breaking the streak in June? That's something Sony could brag about and which could give them some momentum for next gen

Member

Interesting question. I'd venture to say, it would've helped significantly. Normally, the market leader enjoys a large degree of anticipation for the follow-up to a still-popular product. The Wii was a has-been by the time the Wii U arrived. Of course, that was only one of several problems the Wii U faced, and not even the largest.

I've been thinking, for quite some years, that it makes more sense for Nintendo to arrive "mid gen" with its home console platform. This way they see what works and what doesn't, what trends are strong, get closer in terms of specs withouth raising the costs up and most importantly have some solid launch titles.

I think this suits them better because, as we have seen, no matter what they chose to operate in a bubble. What was this 1 year head start used for?

something i noticed at e3 was there were only kiddie/family friendly/for everyone games on the showfloor. it's a slight generalization- deus ex was up at the square enix booth and i think i saw a wii u up somewhere else, but most of the games on the system were the family friendly variety.

the other thing i noticed was that outside of only a few titles, these types of games were only on wii u. it's like the ps4/xbox one were the super serial machines while the wii u was the one for ages 5 and up (well, microsoft focused a lot on what kinect 2.0 was capable of, but they devoted a lot of space to their racing and killing simulators).

i was probably off on epic mickey. it did better than the ps360 games in 2012, but i don't know its current total. lego did over 100k in its first month, and it's not unreasonable that it would have continued to perform relatively well even after advertisements died off.

anyway the point i was trying to get at is that the environment for a console is fostered early on, and unless there's a huge shift in philosophy (like the 360 had with kinect), it's really difficult to change that. nintendo brought out party game and platformer, and what sells? party games (sonic racing, just dance) and platformers (lego, mickey, scribblenauts). oh, and what's been announced for the machine? more platformers, more party games.

not saying it's a bad thing. just saying it's a thing. and it makes more sense when you see something like a hat in time getting looks from wii u owners because that's the fanbase that's currently being cultivated. i don't see this changing any time during the system's lifetime either, not when the next year or so looks to be more of that from nintendo themselves. only bayonetta 2 stands out, but there are always exceptions to the rule.

Member

something i noticed at e3 was there were only kiddie/family friendly/for everyone games on the showfloor. it's a slight generalization- deus ex was up at the square enix booth and i think i saw a wii u up somewhere else, but most of the games on the system were the family friendly variety.

the other thing i noticed was that outside of only a few titles, these types of games were only on wii u. it's like the ps4/xbox one were the super serial machines while the wii u was the one for ages 5 and up (well, microsoft focused a lot on what kinect 2.0 was capable of, but they devoted a lot of space to their racing and killing simulators).

i was probably off on epic mickey. it did better than the ps360 games in 2012, but i don't know its current total. lego did over 100k in its first month, and it's not unreasonable that it would have continued to perform relatively well even after advertisements died off.

anyway the point i was trying to get at is that the environment for a console is fostered early on, and unless there's a huge shift in philosophy (like the 360 had with kinect), it's really difficult to change that. nintendo brought out party game and platformer, and what sells? party games (sonic racing, just dance) and platformers (lego, mickey, scribblenauts). oh, and what's been announced for the machine? more platformers, more party games.

not saying it's a bad thing. just saying it's a thing. and it makes more sense when you see something like a hat in time getting looks from wii u owners because that's the fanbase that's currently being cultivated. i don't see this changing any time during the system's lifetime either, not when the next year or so looks to be more of that from nintendo themselves. only bayonetta 2 stands out, but there are always exceptions to the rule.

i actually forgot all about lego, and i thought of mickey as the only other wii u game to do relatively well.

I personally hope Wii U stays focused on this family friendly track; in the long run, focusing on the other side is what changed Jak and Sly series into Uncharted and Infamous; I hope just at no point they require a change in their game and art design to cultivate their newly formed core demographic.

Banned

something i noticed at e3 was there were only kiddie/family friendly/for everyone games on the showfloor. it's a slight generalization- deus ex was up at the square enix booth and i think i saw a wii u up somewhere else, but most of the games on the system were the family friendly variety.

the other thing i noticed was that outside of only a few titles, these types of games were only on wii u. it's like the ps4/xbox one were the super serial machines while the wii u was the one for ages 5 and up (well, microsoft focused a lot on what kinect 2.0 was capable of, but they devoted a lot of space to their racing and killing simulators).

i was probably off on epic mickey. it did better than the ps360 games in 2012, but i don't know its current total. lego did over 100k in its first month, and it's not unreasonable that it would have continued to perform relatively well even after advertisements died off.

anyway the point i was trying to get at is that the environment for a console is fostered early on, and unless there's a huge shift in philosophy (like the 360 had with kinect), it's really difficult to change that. nintendo brought out party game and platformer, and what sells? party games (sonic racing, just dance) and platformers (lego, mickey, scribblenauts). oh, and what's been announced for the machine? more platformers, more party games.

not saying it's a bad thing. just saying it's a thing. and it makes more sense when you see something like a hat in time getting looks from wii u owners because that's the fanbase that's currently being cultivated. i don't see this changing any time during the system's lifetime either, not when the next year or so looks to be more of that from nintendo themselves. only bayonetta 2 stands out, but there are always exceptions to the rule.

i actually forgot all about lego, and i thought of mickey as the only other wii u game to do relatively well.

Member

I'm guessing Lego City with ZombiU a close second, or vice versa, unless he ruled out ZombiU and I missed it.

Did creamsugar ever say exactly which games were over 100k (back in February or whatever)? Was it only ZombiU, Just Dance, Scribblenauts, and Sonic Racing? BO2 and AC3 (plus maybe Batman) have got to be somewhat close, no?

Member

I still can't believe they temporarily dropped the price last fall (and only on the premium), only to boost it back up in January. The gaming industry is woefully out of touch with modern consumer expectations on pricing curves.

You can't sell 8 year old hardware for $300-$400 dollars, it's insane.

Gamasutra.

I still can't believe they temporarily dropped the price last fall (and only on the premium), only to boost it back up in January. The gaming industry is woefully out of touch with modern consumer expectations on pricing curves.

You can't sell 8 year old hardware for $300-$400 dollars, it's insane.

They dropped the price on everything but the bottom model, right? Not sure if that is what you mean by Premium -- I guess I didn't think of it that way.

They've also run the buy-a-PC-get-an-Xbox promotions during the summer before. I don't know that that's happening anymore either. And I was under the impression that the $150 service-subsidized model was gone now too, but I should check on that.

Member

I'm guessing Lego City with ZombiU a close second, or vice versa, unless he ruled out ZombiU and I missed it.

Did creamsugar ever say exactly which games were over 100k (back in February or whatever)? Was it only ZombiU, Just Dance, Scribblenauts, and Sonic Racing? BO2 and AC3 (plus maybe Batman) have got to be somewhat close, no?